Chronicle reporter fundraises for India’s Covid effort

Chronicle reporter Priya Gulraj has raised over £400 of a £2,000 target in her fundraiser for Khalsa Aid who are assisting those in need in Covid-19 stricken India.

As Covid-19 spreads through rural India there are record daily rises in infections and deaths.

“India needs our help with its Covid-19 crisis,” she said and adding that the money will go to towards supplying oxygen to those who need it most. 

“Although the world has been affected by Covid-19, we were lucky enough to have come through this pandemic in a measured and responsible manner,” said Ms Gulraj.

“Gibraltar did not experience the shortage in hospital beds or oxygen available for people who had tested positive for Covid-19, even when we were at our peak in December and January.”

“But the heart-breaking scenes we are seeing on social media and in the news really caught my attention.”

“The appeals for oxygen and for hospital beds on Twitter and other forms of social media.”

“Gibraltar is my home, and as a people we are generous and kind. I was hoping to share some of this to help those who are most in need,” she added.

Donations can be made via a Just Giving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/india-covid19-appeal-gibraltar

She is also willing to accept any cash donations that will go towards another charity, the British Asian Trust. 

Khalsa Aid is an international NGO with the aim to provide humanitarian aid in disaster areas and civil conflict zones around the world. 

The organisation is based upon the Sikh principle of "Recognise the whole human race as one".

India reported a record 412,262 new Covid-19 cases in the past 24 hours and a record 3,980 deaths. Covid-19 infections have now surged past 21 million, with a total death toll of 230,168, health ministry data show.

India has 3.45 million active cases. 

Medical experts say India's actual figures could be five to 10 times the official tallies. 

India's Covid-19 crisis has been most acute in the capital, New Delhi, among other cities, but in rural areas - home to nearly 70% of India's 1.3 billion people - limited public healthcare is posing more challenges. 

India's Goa state, a hugely popular tourist destination on the western coast, has the highest rate of Covid-19 infections in the country, with up to one in every two people testing positive in recent weeks, government officials said. 

In the capital Delhi, fewer than 20 of more than 5,000 Covid-19 intensive care beds are free at any one time. 

The surge in infections has also coincided with a dramatic drop in vaccinations because of supply and delivery problems, despite India being a major vaccine producer. 

While India is the world's biggest vaccine maker, it is struggling to produce enough product for the surge in infections.

Its two current vaccine producers will take two months or more to boost total monthly output from the current 70 million to 80 million doses.